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Applause for JMonkey

August 17, 2007 - 8:03pm

Ramona

Applause for JMonkey

I want to thank you so much for that recipe. I actually was successful! I was starting to wonder if I would ever get a decent loaf of bread. The loaves looked good and tasted good and had a good texture. My family was very impressed. I left the soaker and the sponge on the counter, as you said I could (I did add the salt to the soaker also). They weren't a dough though, like I expectd, but I just added some more flour with the other ingredients the next day. I ended up with two loaves, not one, but everything turned out really well. The only thing I did alter was I added about 1/4 cup of honey, instead of 2 Tbs. and 2 Tbs. of butter, instead of 1 Tbs. I can't put pictures on here though of the bread, I have no idea how to do that. I knew going into this that I was taking the hard way by only wanting to bake whole grains, but I also knew there was a way. I would like to make a rye bread, marbled rye, and a pumpkernickle bread, if you have any recipes for these without having to use a white flour or all purpose, then I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again!

I'm glad it worked! It's a great recipe, but the real thanks should go to Peter Reinhart. It's very close, I think, to the basic whole wheat sandwich bread he has in his book. The "epoxy method" where you use a soaker and a pre-ferment is all his -- it's amazing what it does to the flavor of whole grain breads.

I haven't seen his new book yet, alas. Loved ones have told me in no uncertain terms that I am NOT to purchase it before my birthday in October, so I'll just have to wait, I guess. But I was a tester, like many others on this board, and I learned an awful lot.

There's a lot on rye, I believe, in the book. I'd HIGHLY recommend picking it up.

I did pick up The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book today and it sounds exactly what I need. You know years ago, I looked at this book because it had been recommended, but when I did I just wasn't understanding what a sponge was and couldn't make out the information this person was saying to me and what this book was saying. I couldn't understand how do you soak grains and then grind them? I didn't realize until I came on this site and read through so much of the material from all of your comments that the grain is ground first and then made into a sponge. I finally got it. So, while I was there, I did look at Peter's book and I am very impressed and am planning on getting it in a couple of weeks. I think I will be set then.

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